Creating Archive Files

Context

Archiving begins with the creation of an archive file. This includes the following steps:

Creating an archive file with the write program
Reading the data to be archived from the database (in background processing)
Writing the data to the archive file

The creation of an archive file continues until archiving is complete or until a restriction defined in archiving-object-specific Customizing (maximum size of an archive file or maximum number of data objects in archive file) has been reached. If archiving is not completed due to a restriction, the write program creates an additional archive file for the data that has not been archived.

If a restriction defined in Customizing is reached during archiving, Archive Administration continues with the deletion phase (if the following checkboxes have been selected in archiving-object-specific Customizing: Start Automatically and Deletion Phase Before Storage).

Virus Scan

When you write archive files, you can run a virus scan on the data to be archived. The virus scan checks all data objects that contain records with XSTRING fields (length of byte sequence variable) or X fields (byte sequence). Only these byte sequence data types potentially contain and distribute viruses.

The ADK virus scan is integrated into the virus scan interface for SAP NetWeaver, and you can activate and implement it as described there. The virus scan profile is called /SARC/ARCHIVING_ADK. It is deactivated when delivered. When the profile is active, the message "Virus Scan with Virus Scan Profile /SARC/ARCHIVING_ADK Active" appears in the job log of a write job. This message is always issued, even if no suspicious data objects has been detected.

If a virus is found, the ADK issues the message as follows: Virus <Name> found in Object <Structure Type> <Component>. The write program terminates with a system exception. The relevant session is handled the same as any other terminated session (for example, due to technical reasons) in Archive Administration. Non-infected archive files that were written and completed correctly before the termination, remain intact.

Write Run Followed by Event

After the creation of all archive files for an archiving session has been completed, the Archive Development Kit (ADK) triggers the system event SAP_ARCHIVING_WRITE_FINISHED. As a result of the reaction to the system event, you have the option of scheduling subsequent archiving jobs automatically. These include refilling indexes or the value help, as well as saving archive files prior to deletion. The event parameter is always the number of the archiving session.

For additional automation of the archiving process, you can transfer the archiving session number to the function module ARCHIVE_GET_FILES_OF_SESSION. This determines, irrespective of the platform, the name and path of the archive files that were written for an archiving session.

To define new jobs, use transaction SM36. To maintain events, use transaction SM62.

Archiving of Attachments

You can use generic object services (GOS) or SAP ArchiveLink to link attachments (for example, Office documents, notes, URLs) with a data object.

If the write program is started for these data objects, the object itself is deleted from the database and written to the archive. However, any attachments associated with the object remain in the content repository as standard.

Once the data object has expired and is deleted from the archive, any associations between the object and its attachments are removed. The attachments are deleted using the report Reorganization of Documents and Send Requests (transaction RSBCS_REORG).

Procedure

Call Archive Administration (transaction SARA).
On the initial screen, enter the name of the archiving object in the Object Name field.
Choose Write.

A new screen, on which you can schedule a background job for the write program, appears.

If archiving for the archiving object was executed or interrupted and if archiving files that have not yet been processed by the relevant deletion program still exist for the archiving session, the system points this out.

Caution

Multiple archiving of data can lead to problems. For this reason, some archiving objects require that data does not exist multiple times in the archive as this can lead to incorrect results, for example, in forming totals.

Ensure the following:
- The new write job you want to plan does not select any data contained in the archived files that have not yet been processed by the deletion program.
- No variants with overlapping selection values are used at the same time.
  
  Note
  
  If the variant you have chosen is already being used in other jobs, you can use the Jobs with Selected Variant pushbutton to display these and delete them, if necessary.
Use the F4 help to choose a variant. If no variant is available, choose Variant and enter the relevant variant. For more information about variant maintenance, see Variant Maintenance for Archiving Jobs.

Caution

If, in archiving-object-specific Customizing for the deletion program, the Start Automatically checkbox is selected and you have chosen a product variant for the write program, the deletion program then starts its product variant. This means that after archiving, the data is deleted from the database.
Enter the Start Date and the Spool Parameters.

Note

Before you start archiving, you can use the Archive Directory pushbutton to determine the amount of available storage space in the current object-specific archive directory. However, this function is not suitable for HSM systems.

Results

You have now entered all data required for the background job. To create the job, choose Execute.

The Goto menu offers access to the following:

Customizing
Job Overview: Offers an overview of all archiving jobs and the functions available for processing them. For more information on the job overview, refer to Managing Jobs in the Job Overview.
Administration
Database Tables
Infosystem

Note

You can view the logs for the started process on the initial screen of Archive Administration by choosing Logs.